Ben the Dragonborn (13 page)

15. RESCUE AND CAPTURE

Charla dreamt that night of giant spiders with wings, a spiked tail and an alligator jaw.  They were coming at her from every side, but she could not get away.  She was stranded on land in her mermaid form, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not call forth her legs.  Jared and Ben were asleep on the ground, not aware that plate-sized spiders were chewing on them.  Charla called over and over, warning them that if they did not wake up soon they would die.  Jared and Ben moaned and occasionally cried out, but they never woke up, no matter how loudly Charla called.  The spiders had already eaten off their ears and noses.

Charla was particularly angry at the damage the spiders were doing to Jared.  She yelled at them to stop.  Then she began to sob, “Leave him, leave him, he is good.  Leave my friend alone.  I love him.”  Those last words shocked the sleeping Charla, and roused her from sleep.  As she lay there half asleep Charla realized the truth of the words she had spoken in her dream.  She had feelings for the human Lushakan.  When Charla was fully roused from sleep she was glad to discover there were no spiders.  The one true thing about her dream was that Jared did moan as he tried to sleep on the hard ground with wounded shoulders.      

Morning found the three friends despondent and afraid of what the day would bring.  Charla and Ben opened their backpacks and shared their food with Jared.  They ate in silence, each one lost in their own thoughts. 

“I’m sorry!” Charla said finally, her eyes closed tightly to keep tears from leaking out.

“What for?” Jared asked with a look of concern on his tired face. 

“I just about got you both killed.  When I’m frightened I can’t seem to keep my transformation.  What was easy before is hard now.’

“You’re getting tired.  We all are. I’m finding it more difficult to keep going and legs are natural for me. And staying invisible is getting harder the more tired I get.  So it’s no wonder that you are having a hard time,” Ben replied. 

“But you haven’t even begun to train yet.  I’ve been training for two years.  I should be able to do better.  If that happens again, just leave me behind.  I don’t want to be the cause of your death - either of you,” Charla’s tears flowed freely now.

Jared laid his hand gently on Charla’s tail.  Charla’s eyes met Jared’s and he smiled reassuringly.  Then he said, “What we’ve faced would frighten anyone.”   

“For sure,” Ben said. “This place should be called Death Island, rather than Spenser Island.” 

“But…I must be able to hold the transformation if I’m ever going to be chosen to go off world.  The Watcher was right.  I’m not ready.  Perhaps I never will be…”

“We wouldn’t have made it this far without you. You saved both our lives more than once,” Jared broke in. 

“Jared’s right,” Ben said, his eyes closed. “We have a saying on our world, a true one I think; ‘Only fools are never afraid.’ Besides,” Ben added, “I’ve been chosen, and I’ve been more afraid than either of you.  If it were up to me we’d have turned back a long time ago.”  

“Well that’s true,” Charla said. “I’ve never met anyone who is afraid of water before,”

“I’ve had dreams ever since I was little,” Ben said. “I have dreams where I drop out of the sky into deep water. I can’t breathe and it’s dark. I call out for my mother, but she does not come.  Everything goes dark.  I float near death.” 

“Is it a memory?” Jared asked. 

“I’ve wondered that myself,” Ben replied. “Whatever it is, the Guardian made a mistake in choosing me. The only reason I’ve made it this far is that the two of you are with me. You two are the ones I would choose if I was doing the choosing.”   

“Us two?” Jared asked.

“Yes, you two!”    

“How does one get to be chosen?” Jared asked. 

“I don’t know. All I know is that my dad is a Chosen and so was my grandmother.  I think my mom was a Chosen as well.  My dad and grandmother both went to the same school I go to, but I don’t know about my mom.  She must have, I guess.  My dad is off somewhere doing the Guardian’s work. He’s been away for eight months.  He told me that he would be gone just a few weeks. I’m afraid something happened to him and I’ll never see him again.  I didn’t know what my dad did or anything about the six worlds until I went to Miss Templeton’s office three days ago. If someone had told me about the Guardian, Watchers, Chosen and portals to other worlds I would have thought they were nuts.”  

“At Fairwaters all the students know about the purpose of the school, but not all are chosen to go off world,” Charla said.  “Jared, you would be a Chosen if humans still trained at Fairwaters.”   

“There used to be humans?” Jared asked.

“Yes, humans and mer trained together, although some say that humans were never more than servants of the Chosen.”  

“I don’t understand,” Ben said. “You accept that humans are chosen from other worlds, why not this world?” 

“We…many of us…but not all…believe the humans on Lushaka are inferior to the humans from other worlds.  We…some anyway believe that the humans of Lushaka would never be chosen no matter what world they lived on because they are of an inferior breed of human.” 

“Is that what you think?” Jared asked. 

“I used to think that way,” responded Charla. 

“What happened?” Jared asked. 

“I met you, tree ape, and knowing you changed my mind.”

“No, I meant what happened to cause humans to stop training at Fairwaters?”  

“There was a war between humans and mer.  The students at Fairwaters got drawn into the conflict.  All the humans and over half the mer were expelled.  There haven’t been any humans since.” 

“We’ve stories of that war.  We have stories of people who betrayed us because they were not really human, but mer with the ability to look human. Changelings, we call them.  Because of the changelings many of my people died.  We are taught that every changeling must die. We are taught that if we know someone is a changeling and allow that person to live, then we are disloyal to our people and a disgrace to our ancestors. I never knew that a changeling could be someone…I…I…”   Jared’s voice trailed off.

“Jared, when I get back to Fairwaters, I will tell the Watcher about you. I will tell everyone who will listen that I’ve met a Lushakan human who is intelligent, has true courage and can be trusted.  I will tell everyone who will listen that you are worthy of being a student at Fairwaters.”    

Jared looked at Charla and then looked upstream in the direction they needed to go, speculation clearly written on his face. “We should go,” he said finally and got to his feet.

The ravine had been formed over the centuries by water wearing down into the rock.  Over the years the stream had cut a narrow path deeper and deeper.  In some places the sky could not be seen.  In other places the ravine sides went almost straight up, revealing a narrow patch of blue sky. The tregs could not fly into the ravine because it was narrow and deep.  

Ben and Jared walked beside the stream when they could.  In places where the gravel ledge disappeared, they took to the water.  Charla stayed in the water and swam where she could.  Where the water was shallow, she slid over the rocks as she pulled herself along with her hands to avoid changing from her mer form.  When they hit the first waterfall, Charla transformed long enough to use legs to climb to the next level. They had gone over six small waterfalls when they found themselves in a place where the ravine opened up. Over the centuries, when there was a heavy rainstorm, water had swirled around and around and worn out a bowl in the rock. Charla dove into the deep pool in the center of the bowl, while Jared and Ben walked around the outside of the pool towards yet another waterfall at the other end.  

The ravine was wider at this point. The sun shone down on the path the boys walked.  Jared and Ben’s shadows were cast on the wall beside them.  Their shadows disappeared for a moment as the boys passed a dark crevice in the wall.  Shortly thereafter their shadows were joined by another shadow that towered above them. Jared heard a scraping sound and turned around.  He squeaked out the word ‘run’, then sprinted ahead, dragging Ben with him.  Ben looked over his shoulder and saw the snake, then put on his brakes.  Ben dragged Jared, who was not willing to release his grip on his friend, to a stop.    

“Don’t be afraid,” Ben said. “It’s just an illusion. I’ve run into this before.”  Ben stepped in front of Jared and took two steps back towards the snake.  The snake reared back and spat.  The spit hit the rock not far from Ben’s feet.  Some of it splashed on Ben’s pant leg. Ben looked down in astonishment at the hole that appeared in his pants.  Then he whispered hoarsely, “This one is real.”  They were about to run when Charla surfaced close to the snake.  She took in the situation, and like Ben thought the snake was an illusion.  

“Impressive,” Charla said.  Then she reached out and touched the coiled body of the snake.  Shock registered on Charla’s face when her hand did not go right through the body of the snake.  She finned backwards as the snake’s head turned from the boys and chased her across the pond.

“Charla!” Jared screamed. “Go deep and hide.”  Charla looked inclined to argue, but the snake was closing in rapidly.  She disappeared underwater and sped down to the depths of the pond.  The snake was not deterred. It followed her down. Charla hid behind a leafy plant.  The snake stuck out its tongue, looking for her scent.  Its head swiveled around looking for any sign of movement.  It was inches away from Charla when its body convulsed.  On the surface Jared had driven his spear into the tail end of the snake. Ben and Jared ran towards the next waterfall while the snake rapidly recoiled itself back on land.   

As Jared ran his feet were lifted off the ground.  It was not the snake who had him, but a treg.  Here, the ravine was wide enough for a treg to fly into, and one had.  When Jared was carried away the snake turned its full attention onto Ben.  Ben cloaked himself in invisibility.  The snake stopped when Ben disappeared, but then began to test the air with its tongue.  It tested the air, and moved ever closer to Ben.  Ben found he had to strain to hold onto his invisibility.  Like Charla, he was tired and he was afraid.  It was hard to hold his transformation.  Ben walked backwards to the next waterfall keeping his eye on the snake.  The snake kept testing the air with its tongue as it followed his movements.  Then the snake’s great head shot out over the water and around behind him.  Ben was trapped between the main part of the snake and its head.  The only way to freedom was up.  Fortunately Ben could call forth the suction cups on his hands and feet.  He began to climb.  The snake tested the air with its tongue.  It followed the invisible Ben as he climbed upwards. 

Ben had a problem.  He did not have the energy to maintain both invisibility and octopus hands. To lose his octopus hands would be to fall, so Ben became visible. He then climbed as fast as he could.  His plan was to get to the top, run along it and then come down further along the ravine and meet up with Charla.  But the snake was faster than he was. It was almost a relief when Ben felt sharp claws grab his shoulders.  Ben released his hold on the rock so the treg could carry him away.  He did not know what would happen to him as the prey of a treg, but he felt sure the snake planned to make an immediate meal of him.  He could picture the snake opening its hinged mouth to shallow him whole.  He likely would not be dead when the digestive juices began their work. The treg might also make a meal out of him, but that fate was not as immediate as the one the snake had in mind.        

Meanwhile, Charla swam to the end of the pond, careful to stay as close to the bottom and as hidden as she could.  Near the waterfall she watched as Jared was carried away.  She had to bite her lip to keep from calling his name.  While the snake was focused on finding the invisible Ben, Charla transformed into legs and quickly climbed the rock near the small waterfall.  She watched from the top, hoping to see some sign that Ben had escaped.  Charla saw Ben become visible.  As the treg picked Ben off the wall, Charla moved upstream as quietly and quickly as she could.  It was a good thing she did, for as soon as the snake lost Ben, it turned its attention to searching for the missing mermaid.   

The treg carried Ben out of the bowl and on up to the top of the mountain.  Once it reached the summit, it banked and began to drop towards the ground.  The treg’s wings beat the air to stop its descent and it released its hold on Ben.  Ben looked down and felt a momentary relief that there was no water under his feet.  He fell about eight feet onto very solid rock and for the first time appreciated the benefits of falling into water.    

16 IN A CAGE

Ben’s fall jarred his bones and rattled his teeth. He fell painfully on his knees.  Ben sat back and looked around. He was in metal cage with no roof. Each wall of the cage was topped with wicked-looking circles of barbed wire. The barbed wire would cut Ben to sheds should he try to climb over. The cage had a distinctive feature that made escape difficult. The cage had no door.   

The cage was off to one side in a circular valley surrounded by high cliffs. Escape from the inside of the volcanic cone would be almost impossible for anyone without suction cups on their hands and feet.  The sheer rock walls made the valley a natural fortress with no way out for those who could not fly.  The floor of the valley was strewn with rocks and bones.  Some of the bones were sun-bleached and dry. Other bones looked as if the flesh had recently been stripped from them.  They were blood red.  There was a large rock beside a natural spring that bubbled up from the valley floor.  The water from the spring ran just on the other side of the cage.  The water came under one corner of the cage so the prisoners had access to it.  The water went underground and disappeared through a hole in the valley floor just before it reached the side of the cliff.  This was the source of the stream the three friends had followed. Not far away was a pile of things that the tregs had collected.  Ben’s gym bag sat near the top. Somewhere in that pile would be the crown they had come to retrieve.        

Off to the left there was a wooden structure.  A roof supported by tall posts kept rain off a raised platform. The roof protected at least forty small monitors.  Under each monitor was an identical set of buttons and switches. Nearby was a metal box that looked like a large coffin standing on end. The box, unlike the cage, had a door which was held closed with a metal bar. There was a small window at the top or the door.

A small creature covered with hair stood in front of the monitors. The creature’s face and fingers were the only parts of it that were hairless.  It had a protruding jaw and thick lips.  The creature stood watching the screens and occasionally pushed a button or pulled a switch. 

Ben looked up to the tops of the cliffs and saw two tregs sitting on nests.  There were other nests, but they were empty.   

“Ben! Ben!” A weak voice called his name.  Brina was sitting against the fence near one corner of the cage.  His tail was stretched out in front of him.  It was dry and dull looking.  His voice was raspy and weak.  He did not look at all well.  Ben got up and walked somewhat shakily over to Brina and sat down beside him.

“You’re here,” Brina whispered hoarsely. 

“Yes,” Ben replied.

“Charla?” Brina croaked out.  

“She was alive a few minutes ago.”

“Then … still hope.

“You knew she was following us?” 

“I knew.”  

Ben took off his backpack and took out the seashell he carried.  He ran over to the stream and brought Brina water to drink.  Then he took off his shirt, ran back and dipped it in the water and spread it over Brina’s tail fin. 

“He knew…insisted…transform…they saw.”  Brina pointed to where Jared stood in excited conversation with two young men.  One looked much like Jared.  He was clearly unhappy. 

“You promised you wouldn’t follow me,” the young man Ben understood to be Gill said.

“I promised not to follow you on my own. I wasn’t on my own,” Jared replied.

“You should not have come,” Gill insisted.

“I knew you were in trouble.  I dreamed that you needed me.” 

“A lot of good it will do. Now you’ll rot in this cage with the rest of us, if you live long enough,” Gill said as he stared towards Ben and Brina frowning.   

There was a sixth occupant in the cage. An old man had grabbed the fence and dragged himself up from the ground.  He was walking unsteadily towards Ben and Brina.

“Brina, who knew you were a mer?” Ben asked. The only creature Ben could see outside of the cage was the ape-man. 

“Dragon!”

“Dragon?” 

For an answer Brina pointed to the center of the small valley to what Ben took to be a large rock. But as he looked closer he could discern features he had overlooked: a ridge along the spine, a tail wrapped around the body.     

“One good thing…dragon does not like mer ...I’m emergency rations...sorry my friend…you he likes.”  Brina’s voice was stronger, but he was still struggling. “Dragon will eat…old man…before me.”  

“Oh, I’m far too stringy for the dragon to eat.  Zork would rather keep me alive to torment.” Speaking to Ben, the old man said, “The name is Morton.” 

“Ben,” Ben replied.

Loud voices turned Ben’s attention away from the dragon to the other occupants of the cage.  The old man spoke loudly to the three Lushakans at the far end of the cage, “You’ll wake the dragon if you keep that up.” The dragon snorted, and changed position.  Everyone, including Ben, froze.  Ben walked over to where Jared stood with his brother. 

“Ben, this is my brother Gill, and his friend, Arno.  Drenid died on the beach. There is no word of what happened to the other three.”  

“I’m sorry,” Ben responded. 

“I understand that Jared would be dead if it was not for you,” Gill said to Ben.  

“I saved his life, he saved mine, and Charla saved us both more than once,” Ben replied. 

“Charla? Who’s Charla?” Gill asked. 

“Charla is a mermaid,” Ben replied. 

“What were you doing with a mer?”  Gill demanded of Jared. 

“She was helping us rescue you and find that stupid crown,” Jared said heatedly. 

“Is she a changeling?”  Gill asked between clenched teeth.

“What do you know about the dragon?”  Ben said to change the subject.  

“The dragon wakes up sometime around sundown.  If the tregs do not bring something else to eat, one of us will die.”  Ben looked at the sky. It was midday. There were still several hours until sundown.

“And how do you know this?  Have you seen it?”  Ben asked. 

“The dragon told us,” said Arno. 

“It speaks?” Ben asked.

“Yeah! It speaks. It never gets tired of hearing the sound of its own voice.”

“Perhaps it lies.”   

“No, the old man has seen it eat both human and mer.  Look for yourself.”  Arno pointed to a ledge part way up the cliff.  From the ledge a few dozen human or mer skulls sat staring vacantly down at them.  Ben stared at the skulls as he walked towards the stream to get more water for Brina.  He was handing the shell filled with water to Brina when it was knocked out of his hand.

“We do not give water to that thing,” Gill’s voice growled.  “It’s a changeling, a changeling who should be dead by now.”  Gill gave the old man a menacing look.  The old man moved away from them and sat down by himself.   

“That thing is Brina and he’s my friend.”

Gill pushed Ben and said, “What kind of scum names a changeling as a friend?  Unless you’re a changeling too?”

A loud snort from the dragon reminded the cage occupants that they did not want to wake it.           

“I’m going to get Brina some water now.  If you try to stop me, there will be a lot of noise, which all of us will regret, but one of you will regret it more than I will.”  

“Suit yourself.  You choose your friends and I’ll choose mine,” Gill said as he walked away from Ben to the other end of the cage. 

Jared walked with Ben to the stream and whispered, “I’m sorry.  He doesn’t understand.  But he’s got a good heart and he’ll come around. I know he will.”  Jared then walked away from Ben to join his brother.  

Ben got Brina some water.  He took his shirt off Brina’s tail and took it to the stream.  He placed it in the stream and then carried the dripping wet shirt to place once more across Brina’s tail fin.  Ben sat down beside Brina.  Brina did not have the energy to carry on a long conversation, and with little to do but wait, Ben fell asleep.  

Ben woke when the dragon snorted.  It raised its head and its tail thrashed back and forth.  It very slowly pushed itself up, beginning with its shorter front legs. The dragon unfolded each wing, one at a time, and stretched it.  Then it turned and walked towards the cage, its tail dragging behind it.

The dragon appeared old.  Its skin was wrinkled and the wisps of hair on top of its head were gray.  It was a mustard green color on its underside and a faded grass green on the upper body.  Its scales were dull and faded.  Sharp claws tipped the end of each of its five-toed feet.  Sharp teeth protruded from both the bottom and top jaw.  Along the spine was a series of bony ridges.  As it drew closer Ben saw that it had brilliant green eyes. 

Ben knew the dragon could speak, but he was not prepared for the words spoken in a deep gravelly voice.  “Ah, we have new dinner guests.”  The dragon laughed as if at some secret joke.  It jumped forward and landed near the cage.  “You and you,” the dragon said, as it beckoned to Ben and Jared.  “Come here.” 

Ben and Jared stepped back away from the dragon.  

“Don’t make me come and get you,” the dragon said.  “Otherwise I might decide that both of you look good for supper tonight.”  

Gill pushed Jared forward towards the fence.  Ben followed behind Jared, although everything within him wanted to get as far away as the cage allowed.  The two boys stood side by side.  Their knees felt weak, and their hands shook as the dragon looked down on them.

“What do we have here?”  the dragon said.  Neither Ben nor Jared replied, but the dragon did not seem to expect a response.  The dragon first turned his attention to Jared.  “I think we have a would-be rescuer here.  Came to rescue your brother, did you?  Impossible, but very brave.  I should reward such bravery.  If you like, I will eat you first so you do not have to watch your brother die."

Turning to Ben the dragon said, “Now who is this with you?  You are not one of those pesky heroes are you?  I’ve eaten one or two heroes in my day.  Are you from this world or another?  Don’t answer that,” The dragon commanded.  "I like to solve mysteries on my own.”  

The dragon paused as if in thought and then said, “Come closer.” Ben stepped closer. 

“Green eyes!” the dragon continued. “You’re not a relative of mine are you? Of course not!  I know all my pesky relatives.  But what are you?” the dragon demanded even more insistently.  Ben remained silent, unsure of what to say.  “Come closer,” the dragon demanded again.

Ben stepped closer.  The dragon reached through the cage with one of his front legs and dragged him closer still.  The dragon’s breath was hot on Ben’s face. “Time for a taste test,” the dragon stated.  The dragon’s tongue whipped through the fence and across Ben’s cheek. 

“Hmmm, you do not taste like a Lushakan.  You do not taste like a mer.  You must be a Chosen of the guardian, but from what planet?  I’ve never tasted anything quite like you on any of the six worlds.  Yet there is something vaguely familiar, something that I can’t put a name to.  Let’s see what gifts you were given.”

The dragon sat back on his hind legs and tail.  It took off a medallion that hung around his neck. Ben gasped.  The dragon had the same medallion as Miss Templeton and Lea Waterborn. “Morton,” the dragon commanded, “Come here.”

Morton did as he was directed.  He came over to where the dragon and Ben stood.  Jared stepped out of the way, hoping that the dragon had lost interest in him.  The dragon slipped the medallion over Morton’s neck, but held tight to both the medallion and Morton.  “Use the medallion,” the dragon demanded.  “Let us find out what gifts, if any, this boy has.”   

Morton took the medallion in his hands.  He held the medallion over Ben’s hand.  As he did so Ben felt his hands and feet develop suction cups.  He then disappeared and became invisible.  The dragon held Ben with one clawed hand, and Morton with the other.  Morton held the medallion over Ben’s hand for several minutes waiting for the revelation of the third gift.  When it did not reveal itself, Morton dropped the medallion and let his hand fall to his side.  The dragon took the medallion away from Morton and let go of him.  The old man fell to the ground.

“A hero, with only two gifts, who tastes strange.  What can it mean?  Why were you sent with just two gifts? What world are you from?   Morton, my friend, can you think of any reason why this boy would be sent out with just two gifts? Any idea who or what he is?”  

Morton shook his head.  He kept his eyes down so the dragon did not see the hope that had been born in them. 

“The Guardian must be losing it,” stated the dragon. “For there is no way this boy is any sort of threat to me.  Not even fifty more like him would be a threat.  I expected better from the high and mighty Guardian.” The dragon’s voice was full of distain.  “Tell me, hero, where are you from?”

“Earth,” Ben whispered. 

“You lie.  I know what an earthling tastes like and you are not it.  Why were you given only two gifts?”

“I don’t know and neither do the Watchers.”  

“You are young to be chosen.  Is this your first time?”

Ben croaked out a quiet, “Yes.”  

The dragon sat back on its haunches and laughed.  “Well, Morton, if you ever hear from the Guardian again, give my thanks for sending some entertainment.  When he no longer amuses me I think I’ll feed him to my birds.  I don’t really like the taste of him myself, but the tregs will eat anything.”